He said that PTP, which will be one year old tomorrow, would continue to be Maersk Sealand’s transhipment hub for South-East Asia.

“Maersk Sealand is not withdrawing any service from PTP owning to the recent development.

“The services placed in Singapore, which will double call at PTP, are positive for the local industry in Singapore as a whole,” he said.

Sidik said that local shippers in Singapore would now have the option of exporting via Singapore or PTP.

On talk that Maersk Sealand would pull out of PTP for failing to meet the Danish line’s standards, he said: “The market talk is to sensationalise the issue.

“Business wise, all operations by our strategic partner have been moved to PTP with capital invested not only in monetary terms but also in term of operational expertise.

“Thus, the question of not meeting operational standards is frivolous,” Sidik told Star Maritime.

According to a report, some industry players see Maersk Sealand’s move as evidence that Singapore is too important a regional hub for any carrier to ignore.

This is owing to the comprehensive network of services centred in the republic and the complexity and sophistication of the liner business.

On claims that PTP had eaten into a substantial share of Singapore’s box volume, Sidik said that any new port would almost always draw cargo from other established ports.

He said that alternatives to existing options offered to shippers and lines were welcomed by the industry and made ports on the whole more competitive.

PTP’s main objective, Sidik said, was to capture transhipment volume and plug local cargo leakage.

“We have achieved the first and are making good inroads in stemming local cargo leakage. Steps on inter-terminal transfer procedures, haulage across the causeway and simplified procedures are being put in place.

“To actually reduce the figures would take a few more steps which involve attracting consolidation and warehousing centres around PTP,” he said, adding that much of the leakage goes across in loose from and not in container.

When the port was officially opened, Sidik said that PTP had some empty repositioning services by Maersk Sealand and Hub Line as its main customer.

A year since then, he said that PTP was established as a transhipment hub for the world’s biggest shipping line with an expected volume of two million TEUs this year.

He said that transition in volume posed many challenges in handling a surge in a matter of months but with better equipment and manpower ratios, the port was poised to further increase productivity.

‘”Our future success will be determined by how many other lines we can attract. This year will be the real test for PTP to prove its operational excellence.”

“We welcome the possible entry of PTP into the load centring policy. We do believe that market forces will play a strong role.

“Last year, Johor Port handled transhipment cargo of nearly 100,000 TEUs and both port in Port Klang are experiencing a surge in transhipment volume,” he said when transhipment volume,” he said when asked about the recent announcement by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik that PTP would be incorporated into the national load-centring policy and would be promoted as a transhipment hub.

On the proposed establishment of the Malaysian Port Commission, Sidik said the objectives for its set-up were important.

He said it would be positive if the port commission made inroads to further simplify clearance procedures, further automate processes and ensure that the Malaysian port sector was able to complete with other regional port which enjoyed efficient third-party services.

“Generally, a centralised body can be positive but it is potentially negative to smaller players if its powers are used wrongly.”

He said the new and established port including PTP were preparing for the entry of 1,000-TEU vessels.

“In Phase One of PTP’s construction, the wharves were designed for a depth of 16.5m. It gives us the option of dredging a metre and a half deeper if market conditions so dictate,” he said.

“To receive these larger vessels, we are planning a widening of the access channel from 250m to 350m.”

Phase Two, he said, would involve depths of 16-17m and this would place PTP in an excellent position to receive the next generation of vessels.

On facilities, he said the port was procuring another 10 Super Pose Panamax quay cranes with a 22-box outreach.

In addition, he said the port would look a purchasing more rubber-tyred Gantry cranes for a ratio of three to every quay crane.

The delivery of this equipment by the end of the year wold boost PTP’s annual handling capacity to 4.5 million TEUs, he said.